The Next 100 Years
by LJS4everandAlways2
Summary: “Time ain’t nothing but time. It’s a verse with no rhyme and it all comes down to you.” – Next 100 Years by Bon Jovi. A story of what happens during the 100 years after Breaking Dawn ends in Bella's POV.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: **"Time ain't nothing but time. It's a verse with no rhyme and it all comes down to you…And you, you know that it's true. After all we've been through, there's nothing that I wouldn't do." – Next 100 Years by Bon Jovi. A story of what happens during the 100 years after Breaking Dawn ends.

**Disclaimer**: I am not Stephenie Meyer, I have no intention of gaining profit from this story. It is just for fun, so don't sue me =)

* * *

"Sweetie, it's been a year since the wedding–"

_One year, ten days, eighteen hours, thirty-seven minutes and forty-two seconds_, my mind calculated effortlessly.

"–and I haven't seen you at all. Come visit me!"

"Mom," I said patiently, using my "rough" voice, "I was sick for most of that year."

Renee sniffed. "But you're better now. There's so much I want to show you. Even Phil…"

I let her ramble on, digesting every word while listening to my family in the living room. Esme was chatting away with Rosalie, discussing plans for Emmett and Rosalie's umpteenth honeymoon. Emmett was rhythmically moving his hand up and down Rosalie's leg. Alice was scratching away on some clothing design – hopefully not for me – and I heard her mindlessly tapping her toes on Jasper's arm. Her feet must be in his lap. Jasper was silent – no, he just told off Emmett for feeling a little too excited about the honeymoon. Emmett shot back with something inappropriate. Edward sided with Jasper and warned Emmett to sensor himself, aloud at least, and then turned back to Renesmee, proceeding with their piano lesson. Carlisle turned a page in the book he was reading, laughing once to himself. I guessed his laugh was from his son's bickering rather than the book, which was a huge medical dictionary.

I processed this while Renee finished her sentence about Phil. I continued listening to both parties for two minutes and twenty-nine seconds more, then heard Edward say, "That's perfect, try this progression–" his finger tip wrinkled the music page "–while I go visit your mother."

Edward ghosted into the kitchen, a movement that would have taken me by surprise when I was human. I turned when he reached my side, looking up into his concerned eyes. He knew how much I wanted to see my mother, but we both knew that it was a near impossibility.

"…and when I think about how you see your _father_ all the time–"

I cut Renee off. "I don't see him very often."

Renee made a "hmph" sound and said, "He tells me you see him at least twice a week."

I rolled my eyes and Edward chuckled softly. Oh Charlie. Renee probably tricked that answer out of him. It wouldn't be easy to give Renee plausible excuses and diffuse parental jealousy at the same time. "That's because he needs to be taken care of. You have no idea how bad the state of the house is."

"I thought that Sue he talks so much about was helping him," Renee said. I could practically hear the smirk in her voice.

Edward out right laughed and I smacked him. Apparently it was a little too hard – Edward fell backward with a resounding _crash!_ on the kitchen floor. I heard laughter from the living room and one sharp intake of breath. Esme would kill me if any damage had been done to the hardwood.

"Goodness, dear, what was that?" Renee asked.

"Oh just Edward and Emmett being stupid. Wrestling, I think." Edward grinned as he picked himself off the floor, mouthing, _You can't even lie over the phone!_ I resisted the urge to hit him again.

Renee tutted. "That reminds me, Bella, when are you and Edward going to get your own place? I know he has enough money to buy you two a nice house."

"All of my – I mean, Edward's siblings, live here."

"Bella, they aren't married." Oops. "I'm sure Carlisle and Esme wouldn't mind, in fact they might be glad to see you go."

"There's…not really a point. I think we will be getting a house when we leave for Dartmouth, anyway."

"You better hurry, semester should start anytime."

"Uh…" I looked to Edward for help. He whispered, "Second semester."

"Yeah, we are starting in the spring. I am technically healed, but Carlisle thinks Dartmouth would be too exerting for my health."

Edward gave a thumbs up, approving of my alibi.

"I still want to see you," Renee protested.

"I know, Mom, I really do. I miss you, too. As soon as Carlisle gives the okay, I can go to Florida."

My voice weakened near the end and Edward took my hand. Florida was not going to happen.

"Well maybe I could visit you there!"

Absolutely not a possibility. Renee didn't know about Renesmee, and she was too perceptive to buy the story about Edward's orphaned niece. Even Charlie didn't buy it, for crying out loud. And there was that miniscule detail, that I was a vampire, and looked quite different from when I was human. As in beautifully perfect, cold as ice and hard as granite. Plus much more graceful compared to the tripping mess I had been.

"During baseball season? No, mom, you have to be with Phil."

"Bella–"

"Listen, I have to go. I'll let you know, okay?"

"Okay. I love you, baby."

"Love you too, mom."

I hung up the phone, staring at it until Edward pulled me towards him. "Are you alright?" he asked, pulling my chin up so he could see my light amber eyes.

I nodded. "Sure."

He didn't believe me. "We'll figure something out," he promised, kissing my forehead. As usual, this simple touch made my head whirl and I wanted nothing more than to –

The sound of the door bursting open, followed quickly by the smell of ammonia, ripped me from my private bubble with Edward. "Hey vamps," Jacob greeted casually.

"Will he ever stop ruining my moments?" Edward mumbled. I smiled up at him.

"Remind me why I haven't installed that doggie door?" Rosalie snapped to the room.

"Probably because you haven't figured out how to use that drill yet, Blondie," Jacob shot back naturally.

"Oh, I know how to use it, so I can drill a hole right through your–"

"How was school, Jake?" Carlisle asked, cutting Rosalie off as he put down his book.

"Same 'ole, same 'ole, Doc," Jake replied, opening his arms for Nessie to jump into them.

I squeezed Edward's hand and said, "Let's go," guiding him into the living room where all the commotion was.

"I don't know, Nes, you have to ask everyone else," Jake was saying as we walked in. I saw her hand pressed to Jake's cheek.

Renesmee sullenly dropped her hand – she hated speaking aloud. She had told me she didn't like the attention, which made me smile. Nessie had inherited more from me than I thought. "Does Jake _really_ have to be in school?" she asked. "Why can't he stay here with us? He doesn't have fun there."

"Jacob needs a complete education, everyone does," Carlisle said simply. "You, out of everyone here, should appreciate the power of learning, Nessie."

Nessie didn't look completely convinced. "My dad would kill me if I dropped out of school," Jacob assured her.

Putting a hand to his cheek, Renesmee looked very seriously into his eyes. Jake nodded. "Yeah, I wanna stay in school. I like learning."

I knew Jacob was saying that to make Renesmee feel better. He had already ranted to me at the start of school two days ago that he thought the whole concept was pointless.

"Jacob, you have the choice of immortality. It's okay to spend two more years getting an education, there will be plenty of time ahead of you," I said as I mindlessly cleaned the bookcase in our cottage.

"That's my point!" Jake raged. I shushed him – Renesmee was sleeping in her room. He began quieter. "I have forever, and I'll be a part of this family some day so it's not like I'm going to need cash from a job an education would get me."

Edward growled from the corner of the small, useless kitchen. He was already irritated Jake was cutting into our mandatory alone time each evening; talk of one day marrying our little girl was pushing him past his limits. I gave Jake a warning look and continued with, "That's not relevant. The longer you wait to get at least a high school education, the harder and more monotonous it will be when you go back. Plus I know Billy would like to see his son graduate from high school."

Jacob growled much in the same Edward had – I had hit him hard with the Billy card. He threw his hands up in the air and said, "Fine. I'll do it. But I won't enjoy it. Embry and Quil don't enjoy it either."

"Well I'm sure you would all like to be off running around together but that's just not logical or practical for any of your futures."

Jake rolled his eyes at me. "Yes, mom."

I stopped cleaning for a minute, putting the hand with the rag in it on my hip as I turned to him. Edward smiled slightly; he was happy my human reactions were starting to come back. "Is that all you wanted to whine about? Because Edward and I have things to do."

Pulling a face, Jake simply said, "Ew," and bounded out of our cottage as fast as he could. The next second Edward was grabbing my waist. "Finally, I thought he would never leave," he had time to say before I found a way of effectively silencing him.

So Jacob went to school grudgingly. It was harder when he knew Renesmee much preferred him to be with her, but Billy was firm and so was I. The family just had to get creative with ways of entertaining Renesmee all day, something that we all gladly worked on. Piano lessons were the first activity planned, but at the rate Renesmee was going that diversion was only going to last a few weeks at most.

"Wow, Nes, you are really working with that piano!" Jacob commented at the same time I thought it. Renesmee must be telling him about her day. He paused for a moment, then said, "Yeah, it looks like your dad is a good teacher."

I looked up at Edward. He was trying to hide a smile, but his face seemed to be glowing. I grasped his hand tightly and put forth all my concentration on lifting the shield from my mind. Once I felt the unsteady lightness in my head, I thought, _What was she thinking about?_

As usual whenever I did this, Edward beamed, dazzling me momentarily. He leaned down and whispered so only I could hear, "How much she enjoyed her lessons today. Her adoration for me was…enthusiastic."

_I'm guessing that's an understatement?_ I thought.

Edward simply kissed my temple in response. I let my mind react naturally to his touch. Then, partly to tease him, partly because it was getting hard to concentrate, I put my guard up once again. Edward groaned quite audibly.

Our family looked over in confusion, each wondering, no doubt, what they had accidentally thought that annoyed Edward. He waved his hand in dismissal to all of them and said, "Nothing you all did." He paused for half a second, then continued with a subject changer: "Are we still going to play baseball?"

"Hell yeah! Do you really think the puppy can keep up?" Emmett joked towards Jacob.

"I'll not only keep up, I'll win," Jacob said staunchly.

"Let's just go!" I said excitedly, cutting off Emmett's retort. It would be the first time the family attempted to play baseball since the disastrous encounter with James. I wanted to test out my skills.

Renesmee leapt out of Jacob's arms and bounced to me. I crouched so she could get to my cheek easier. Her thoughts were tinged with worry about the game. _What if I'm not good?_ she thought. Nessie had only ever seen baseball once at Charlie's and was concerned she wouldn't do well with little knowledge of the game.

"You'll be great," I assured her. "If anyone is going to be bad, it will be me."

Emmett laughed and Edward rolled his eyes. Renesmee considered this, but announced, "I can help Grandma referee the game," and went to grab Esme's waiting hand.

"She is so like you," Edward murmured as we made our way to the field, slightly above a human's pace. We were all walking together, Emmett and Jasper carrying the equipment. It was nice to be with each other, laughing and joking. I watched Renesmee being swung in the air by Esme, watched as they made guesses on who would foul the most and who would score the first point. Rensmee tried asking Alice for information on the outcome, but Alice just gave her vague answers. Nessie's laugh filled the night air and our whole family grinned because of it.

"She is better than me," I sighed happily, wrapping my arms around Edward as twilight began to descend over us.

* * *

**Author Notes: **For a contest I sadly didn't win, the prompt was to write 1,000 words on what happened to the Cullens 100 years after Breaking Dawn ended in Bella's point of view. What I ended up writing was a huge summary of what had happened _during_ those 100 years instead of what happened _after _the 100 years. After thinking about what the Cullens were doing for so long, I decided to get it out of me and start writing a fan fiction covering those 100 years. I don't know how long it will be between updates, since I am in college, have a job, am writing original stories and fan fiction (plus writing classes for my degree), but I couldn't not write this story. It has been tormenting me and it wasn't letting my brain make room for any other writing. So here it is and I'll try to update as soon as I can. R/R!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary: **"Time ain't nothing but time. It's a verse with no rhyme and it all comes down to you…And you, you know that it's true. After all we've been through, there's nothing that I wouldn't do." – Next 100 Years by Bon Jovi. A story of what happens during the 100 years after Breaking Dawn ends.

**Disclaimer**: I am not Stephenie Meyer, I have no intention of gaining profit from this story. It is just for fun, so don't sue me =)

* * *

The morning sunlight began spilling through the gorgeous open windows of our cottage. The breeze fluttered the gossamer enveloping our white bed, the bed that, every time I looked at it, reminded me of perfect yet dim memories of my human honeymoon. I smiled as I ran through them again.

Edward was tangled beneath me, each part of our diamond bodies pressed together. He was watching every flicker of my nearly golden eyes, every contraction of my facial muscles. Despite my ability to let him in, Edward continued to be fascinated deciphering my expressions. And, as he told me before, he loved the peace my mind brought him.

Still, Edward retained his intense curiosity to hear my thoughts, and my last smile finally did him in. He slowly moved his hand down my arm, entwining my fingers with his and squeezing with the amount of strength he had used with my human self.

This was Edward's sign that he wanted to hear my thoughts.

_You are getting spoiled rotten being able to hear me, _I thought when I lifted the shield away from my mind.

Edward smiled and kissed the tip of my nose. "Not really, since your thoughts are still muted when you do let me in. Even in your head, you are mysterious."

I internally rolled my eyes. Me, mysterious. Right.

"Stop that," Edward scolded with a smirk. "Now, what was that smile for?"

I let my gaze travel over the dancing bed curtains. _Just thinking about the best part of my human life. _My mind naturally reviewed my honeymoon, making my stomach twist with excitement.

"Mmm." Edward smiled wickedly.

My shield snapped into place. That was my favorite game, and semi-punishment, whenever Edward would start to get too indulgent with the all access pass. As usual, he groaned in response and began kissing me feverishly. Our tongues danced together like they had never been able to before, and still this simple action made my head spin.

"Not fair," Edward muttered between kisses. I laughed lightly and pulled away enough to take control, peppering kisses along his cheeks and his forehead.

My hands twisted into his unique auburn locks. "I love your hair, Edward," I sighed, feeling each strand's soft texture. "The color is so gorgeous, so unique. And unbelievably soft." I planted a kiss in his mane. "I am so happy Renesmee got your hair."

"She has your curls," Edward protested.

I shook my head. "No, those are Charlie's."

"They are yours, too," Edward replied, his eyes tracing my sure to be unruly hair.

I watched him for a moment, then blurted, "Your eyes, too. They are beautiful. Not simply the color, which I know is more golden than anyone else's, but the shape. It's as if I can see your soul reflected out to me." I kissed his brow furrowed in confusion at my strange declarations. "That's how I know you have a soul. It is so clearly there in your eyes."

Closing his eyes, Edward gave me a chaste, sweet kiss and leaned his forehead against mine. "There is so much I love about you," I continued. "Your crooked smile that is only for me. Your laughter that is so musical, it's as if a thousand symphonies are playing the same song at once."

Edward gave a short chuckle. "Stop, you are making me blush," he teased, connecting his gaze with mine.

I laughed shortly and secured his face in my iron grasp. "You do realize how much I love you?" I whispered, a voice too low for human ears to pick up. "How much I have always loved you and will always love you? How you are the only _man_–" I stressed the word for his benefit "–that has ever completely had my heart?"

Nodding, Edward slipped his fingers into my messy brown hair. "I truly do," he murmured. "Thank you, my dearest, beautiful Bella."

I leaned down to kiss him once again, but before I could complete my intended course of action, Edward's expression turned distracted. I knew this look well. "Renesmee is waking up?" I asked, although I really didn't need to.

"In about seven minutes," Edward answered, reluctantly sitting up. We quickly dressed and went out into our living room to wait for our daughter to stumble out of bed.

Renesmee entered exactly on time, yawning and rubbing her wide brown eyes. In just two years she already had the appearance of a ten year old and the mind of a college graduate. She was wearing an adorable nightgown that looked more like a princess dress than something you wear to bed. The hair that I was just admiring so much on Edward was in tangles around her head, making her look ruffled and gorgeous.

I jumped up and swept her into my arms, spinning her around. Nessie started to giggle and when I slowed, she kissed my cheek. "Good morning, mommy," she said, knowing that by calling me mommy instead of simply mom would make my day.

"Good morning sweetheart. How did you sleep?" I took her over to the couch and flopped down. She scooted over so she was between Edward and I, leaning her head on his shoulder. He wrapped an arm around her and kissed the top of her head, then nestled his face in her curls.

Nessie chose to show rather than tell me how she slept. I saw her dreams were full of beautiful forests around home, Jake, myself and Edward, and the rest of the Cullens. Rosalie seemed to be a prominent part of her dreams and Nessie was anxious to see her and get her hair brushed.

"Let's go ahead and see your Aunt Alice and Rosalie," Edward said, scooping Nessie up effortlessly even though she was getting so big. She would be as tall as Edward.

We began our journey over to the Cullen house. Nessie never got ready for the day at home. Alice and Rosalie had too much fun dressing her up. Besides Nessie liked getting pretty and was even imputing her own fashion ideas. She knew that if she got ready at home I would put her in jeans, an idea that terrified her as much as the thought of dresses terrified me.

Rose was waiting outside when we got to the house. A breathtaking smile spread over her face when she saw Nessie, and she held her arms out for her to spring into them from Edward's grip. "Hello Nessie, darling. How did you sleep?" she asked, giving her a kiss on the head.

As Renesmee filled her aunt in on her dreams, I slowed my walk to take in my sister. My human memories of her were always filled with self-conscious jealousy, casting Rosalie in a beautiful but terrifying light. She was so severe and stubborn in my memories. Now, even though she could still be these things, she was happier than I had ever seen her.

Emmett agreed with me. We had been wrestling while Rosalie and Renesmee were nearby playing. We had agreed on five rounds, and it was even until the last when I had barely beaten him. After razzing each other for a bit, we settled unnecessarily on the grass and watched our two girls play.

He had sighed and I looked over questionably. His expression was full of love and so private I averted my gaze. "I have never seen Rose this happy before," he muttered. "Whenever we are alone, I can draw something like this out of her. But this is so much greater. And it makes me happier, too."

"I thought you were always the happy one," I joked, lightly punching him in the arm.

Emmett chuckled, then looked down, his face taking on an unfamiliar pained look. "I just wish that I had been able to make her this happy. That I could be able to give her this, a daughter."

"Em," I said softly, placing my hand on his shoulder, "you will always have Renesmee in your life. And even though she will grow up," I swallowed thickly, "and there won't be another little girl to spoil, this is helping Rose heal the wound of missing a human life. She will be better."

Nodding, Emmett replied, "She already is." He looked up and shot me a playful grin. "What did I do to deserve such a kick ass sister?" he asked, gripping me in a headlock and rubbing my head with his fist. I squealed and pushed him off, challenging him to a rematch.

"Rose has something to ask us," Edward said, pulling me out of my crystal clear memory.

Rosalie scowled. "You would think after all these years, _that_ would get less annoying."

Edward shrugged indifferently. I rolled my eyes at their banter and waited for Rosalie's request.

"I was wondering if it would be alright to take Nessie to the park today. It will be raining and no one will be around. Alice said so."

It was easy to see Rose hated asking for permission; it was too humbling for her character. "Jake will be upset if he misses seeing her today," I ventured.

Rosalie grinned wickedly. "Even better."

"Jacob is always with her," Edward said. "I think it would be fine if Rose got to spend a day with Nessie."

"Especially since I am leaving this evening," Rose threw in, loving an excuse to bring up her and Emmett's billionth honeymoon.

I held my hands up in defense. "I'm not saying no. Just making the point that you might have to contend with Jake later."

"Not a problem," Rose said breezily. "Come on, Nes, let's get you ready."

It was strange to spend the day without my daughter. I barely got a chance to say goodbye when she was pulled from the house in a lovely summer dress with her curls pulled neatly into a ponytail. Edward and I had stared at the spot where she disappeared for a while until Alice goaded us away from the window.

We used that time to work on my languages. I had always been jealous of Edward's fluency in all different kinds of speech and wanted to match. I was starting with Spanish and planning to learn more. Except Italian.

"_Se necesita_…blank…_para jugar tenis_," Edward offered.

"_Una raqueta_," I answered distractedly, gazing out the window.

"_Un siguiente todo, por favor_," Edward reprimanded, just as distractedly.

"_Yo necesito una raqueta para jugar tenis_," I replied sarcastically.

Edward chuckled and snapped the textbook close. "I can't do this either. Maybe we should play a game."

"Maybe we should go to the park," I said innocently.

Smiling, Edward shook his head. "I know you miss her, but Rose has been looking forward to this for a week. And she is–"

"Leaving," I finished for him. "I know."

"Well…" Edward bowed his head and looked up at me from under his lashes, one of his first tricks that still never failed to dazzle me. "There are other things we could do while we have the cottage to ourselves…"

My mind immediately went wild with fantasies and memories, but I felt myself shaking my head. "We should spend time with our family."

His face fell. "That's probably a good idea," he muttered.

I reached across the dining room table and lightly brushed my fingers over the back of his hand. "Don't forget we have all night," I purred.

Edward's molten golden eyes flashed to my face, burning right through me. "We better spend time with them now. Otherwise there is nothing stopping me from pouncing on you right now."

I nodded woodenly, amazed how Edward was the only one who could still make me feel human. We raced to the living room, Edward to his piano and me to Esme to learn a little more about house design.

They returned an hour before Rose and Emmett needed to be at the airport. Edward and I greeted them at the end of the driveway and we both reached for Nessie at the same time. As Rose rushed upstairs to grab a few last minute things, I asked Renesmee how her day was. Pictures immediately began filling my mind, accompanied by feelings of happiness and love. I was only a little jealous that Rosalie had no problem at all accepting Renesmee, who was half of the me she used to hate. The joy Nessie expressed at spending time with her aunt overrode my jealousy. I smiled as a little of that green emotion filtered into her thoughts. Nessie was remembering admiring Rosalie's thick, blonde curls and wishing her hair was the same.

"There's no use in wishing you looked like Rosalie," Edward told her. "No one can compare with her. But you're hair is absurdly lovely and it is silly to wish it was different."

I pet her copper locks lovingly. "Just like your daddy's," I said, flashing a grin at Edward. "It is so unique and soft. And perfectly curled."

My praise made her feel better and I grinned. She pressed her hand harder to my cheek and continued to fill me in on what games they played in the deserted, rainy park and how she got ice cream afterwards. Nessie had trouble finding human food she liked, but it was no problem for her to accept sweets. Edward said he remembered having a terrible sweet tooth when he was human and that she might have inherited that from him.

"We're leaving now," Rosalie said, interrupting Nessie's story about her day. The family got up from their various pursuits to say goodbye. Emmett and Rosalie saved Renesmee for last.

"We will get you tons of souvenirs from Amsterdam," Emmett promised.

"And send you postcards," Rose added.

Renesmee's face lit up. She gave them one last hug, pressing her hand to each of their faces. "Have a good time," she said sweetly, jumping down from Rosalie's arms and running into mine.

The next few weeks went by uneventfully. Jake was ecstatic Rose would be out of the house for a while and spent every spare moment with us. He helped distract Renesmee from missing her aunt, but she always glared at Jacob whenever he made a joke about Rosalie being gone.

The longer Rose and Emmett were gone, the more forlorn Nessie became. She often showed me how much she missed her burly uncle and especially her beautiful aunt. The postcards that were promised to her helped, but she wanted her whole family intact at home.

"I think I figured something out," I told Edward one morning after they had been gone for two weeks.

He ran a gentle hand over my hair splayed across his chest. "What's that?"

"I know who I want to ask to be Renesmee's godmother."

Edward sat up a little and pulled me with him in order to look into my face. "I didn't know you wanted Nessie to have a godmother."

"Well, I didn't think about it. Until after the…Volturi," I whispered.

The usual anger flashed in Edward's eyes. This happened whenever I mentioned the Italians, which is why I generally tried to avoid the topic. "Who are you thinking about asking?"

His voice was cold. I swept my hand through his hair to attempt to thaw him out. It worked to an extent – his eyes grew warmer but his body was still stiff. "Rosalie."

Shock crossed his features and he gave me a bewildered smile. "Really? Why not Esme or Alice?"

I looked down at his perfect chest and began absentmindedly tracing the definitions of it. "I know. I was going to ask all three of them, but that would be redundant. Of course it's obvious if anything happens to us," Edward sighed and pressed his lips to my hair, "that whoever is left in our family will take care of Nessie. They are all wonderful with her. But Alice has never had the desire to have kids and Esme has all of us."

Edward shrugged. "If that's what you want, I have no problems with it. To me, it seems a little pointless since Nes will be an adult in five years."

"It's…" I trailed off, not knowing how to phrase it. "It's more of a considerate offering. I want Rosalie to know how much she means to my daughter and me. I want her to be more at peace with this life. Especially since I made it pretty hellish for her when I was human–"

Edward cut me off by cradling my face between his hands and pulling it towards his. He locked eyes with me, entrapping me with his golden gaze. "No one resents you at all for coming into this family. They didn't realize how…incomplete it was without you, and especially without Renesmee." He gave me my favorite crooked smile. "We truly are a family now because of you, you amazing creature."

I smiled. "Well that's a relief." He chuckled and gave me what was supposed to be a quick kiss, but that lasted for quite a while longer.

"So," Edward began once we broke apart, "Does that mean I get to pick someone to be godfather to Nessie?"

I nodded enthusiastically. "Absolutely. Whoever you want."

"Hmmm. I'll keep that in mind." There was a pause. "May I make one suggestion?"

"Sure," I replied, a little confused as to what he was referring.

"You might want to explain to Alice and Esme your decision before telling Rose. I don't think they would be upset, but it would be nice to show you did think of them."

I took his advice that day and managed to grab Esme and Alice while Jasper was helping Renesmee understand the finer points of human psychology. Alice of course already knew I had decided this and was a little petulant throughout my explanation, but understood why I chose Rosalie. Esme agreed wholeheartedly, knowing what it would mean to Rose.

The happy couple came home after a month, bearing gifts not only for Renesmee, but for the rest of the family, too. Even Jacob got something, although from the look on his face he could have gone without it. Jake had come over the evening of their return, a little crestfallen to see Rose was back.

"What do UFO's and smart blondes have in common?" Jake asked as soon as he walked in and saw Rosalie. She rolled her eyes in response and Jacob finished his joke, saying, "You keep hearing about them, but you never see them."

"We got you a present, pup." Rosalie's voice was full of false sweetness.

Jacob snorted. "What is it, a nice chicken glazed with a venom sauce?"

Instead of replying, Rose presented Jacob with a large velvet jewelry box. He quirked an eyebrow before cracking open the lid. His eyes narrowed as he looked at the contents.

Emmett guffawed and Rosalie grinned. "I hope it fits. We can always adjust it," she said with phony concern.

Using his pinky finger, Jacob lifted the present out of the box for everyone to see. It was a brown leather collar with a shiny red metal tag attached, boldly engraved with the word, "MUTT." Sniggers broke out around the room, and even I cracked a smile despite the fact I disapproved of Rose and Jake's squabbles.

"You spelled my name wrong," Jake said, shaking his head. "Didn't expect much from a blonde. Good thing, or else I would be disappointed."

Rosalie opened her mouth to retort and I saw Edward's brow crease at the same time. "Rose!" I interrupted, knowing that she was about to cross a line. "Do you want to go on a quick hunt with me?"

Raising a perfect eyebrow, Rose asked, "Now?"

"Yes. Just for an hour or two."

Confused but willing, Rose went to change and then we were out the back door, taking off through the forest at full speed. Rosalie downed two deer, but I caught the smell of larger prey and took down a stag a moment later.

"I'm guessing hunting wasn't your priority when you asked me out here," Rosalie commented when we had finished.

I sat on a large moss covered boulder. "Not exactly."

Following suit, Rose sat on a fallen tree a few feet across from me. "I wasn't going to hurt the dog."

I shook my head. "It's not about Jacob. I actually wanted to ask you something. Something I've been thinking about for awhile."

Rosalie cinched her eyebrows but said nothing, waiting for me to continue. I took an unnecessary breath. "Ever since the Volturi came, I've been thinking about Renesmee and her well being. I know what I am about to ask you is somewhat null and void since she will be mature in a few years." I paused, trying to find the best way to put it. I decided blunt was best. "Would you like to be Nessie's official godmother?"

There was a whoosh of air as Rosalie let out a harsh breath. She sat frozen, her expression unreadable. "I…I just thought you would be best for it," I began to babble nervously. "You are so good with her, and I know you truly love her as much as I do, and would do _anything_ to protect her. Besides I know you would be an excellent mother–"

I didn't get a chance to finish. Rosalie had her arms around me so fast I didn't even see her coming towards me. At first my instincts took over and I tensed, ready to throw her off of me, until my mind registered how gentle her hold was, how her body was shaking and she was making some sort of strange sound. Sobbing tearlessly.

Awkwardly, I put my arms around her, patting her back in what I hoped was a comforting manner. "Rose?" I asked timidly.

"Yes," she answered immediately. "Yes, of course. I am so honored. Yes I will be Renesmee's godmother."

I smiled. "Well, good. I'm glad you agree."

Chuckling, Rose released me and backed up, self-consciously running a hand over her hair. "Thank you," she said. Her voice was the kindest I had ever heard it, and the tone made everything about her impossibly more beautiful. "Why did I ever resist you joining this family?"

"There were ample reasons," I said dryly, recalling irksome human memories of the danger I put the Cullens in over and over.

In response, Rosalie simply shook her head. "Come on, Bella. Let's go back to our family."

* * *

**Author Notes: **It took forever to get out because I had no idea what the focus would be. I only have snippets of ideas for this story, just a few scenes I think about whenever I re-read the series, so it's hard to fill in the blanks. That being said, I am not a fan of this chapter. I kind of feel like I am blah-blah-blah-ing to get to what I want to write about. So if anyone has some major suggestions to improve it, let me know and I will re-write it and post it again.

Does anyone have any ideas of things the Cullens would do in the 100 years after BD? If you do and don't plan on writing about it, send the idea to me in a review, and if I like it I'll use it and credit you with the idea in the beginning and end of the chapter =)

R/R!


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